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Best detector for picking through lots of iron?

Monolith

New Member
Joined
Dec 16, 2011
Messages
2
Hi guys!

First off, thanks very much for taking the time to read this, i'm sure you guys must get the same questions over and over again.

So, my parents live in an old 1780's farmhouse and its never been detected (theyve been there since the early 70's). I'd like to try detecting the area, but my short jaunt with a cheapo detector just turned up tons of iron. The barn burnt down years ago so the area is littered with old nails and bits of iron equipment pulled out of the barn.

I know there's some neat stuff to be found, though, because I just chose a random spot to dig, and under two trowelfuls of dirt i came across an old musket ball.

Is there a certain detector that excels as seeing past iron debris? Or a specific type of setup that would help?
 
Wow, sounds like a great place to hunt....

I would get the best detector you can within your price range. Good discrimination is a must. And you may want to pick up a small coil for better trash separation. If you tell us your budget we can point you in a better direction.
 
With your budget, I'd start off with maybe a Garrett Ace 250 or a Fisher F2 as they do a decent job with discrimination. For a little more dough a Tesoro Silver uMax is a good choice. If you really want the best detector for iron, any of the higher-end Minelabs (Explorer, Safari, Etrac) would be ideal, but be prepared to spend nearly $1,000 or more ...
 
For a couple of hundred you may be able to pick up a decent used detector...

Whites coin master
Garett ace 250 or 350
Fisher f2 maybe?
Most important thing in your situation sounds like it would be good discrimination.

I would try and get a pin pointer also, lots of people on here use the pro pointer from garett it will save you tons of aggravation and time. There are inexpensive pin pointers like the cen-tech from harbor freight if money is tight, they go for about 20 bucks.
 
This is the age old question: which detectors are best in trashy areas in being able to seperate closely spaced items. Not sure. Small coils are supposed to be pretty good in trashy areas.
Based on what you've found so far without a detector it might be reasonable to spend as much as you can because the payback will likely be pretty quick.
 
When I think about detecting a spot like that where you and only you are going to be able to keep detecting it, I would want to dig the iron too cause you may find something cool and you'll be able to take your time covering the area ... and remember when using the pinpointer when you are digging, you may hit a nail with it and pull it out, but the good target may still be down there so go over the hole again with your detector... So I would also recommend looking at a used detector in that price range so you can get something that will go a little deeper too

But I know digging nail after nail sucks.. I don't have enough experience with all the detectors to recommend one, but the people on here will definately steer you in the right direction

happy hunting!
 
hope this helps

With a couple hundred you would like the Fisher F-2. It will see past small iron, but larger iron will be detected. I think this is the same with all detectors, but I have only used four. The F2 also takes a pretty good guess at what is under your coil, but none are always right on. In your situation it would be fun to have a digital target guesser, like the F2 has, because you could slowly work the place out, cherry picking at first and as you clean out more and more targets, you will begin to find deeper and better finds. Old ground has to be worked over slowly, even staking out a small area and just working on it until the F2 won't find anything else with no discrimination.
There is no magic detector and whatever each person can afford, will get them to finding good targets if they will take their time and learn how to use what they have.
You might like the Tesoro Compadre too. I use one and I love it ! BUT, it isn't designed to take a guess at a target, but you can use the disc. knob to cherry pick at first and then work your way down to deeper stuff, just like the F2. And just enjoy your private silver mine ! ......gold mine ?
 
Hi guys!

First off, thanks very much for taking the time to read this, i'm sure you guys must get the same questions over and over again.

So, my parents live in an old 1780's farmhouse and its never been detected (theyve been there since the early 70's). I'd like to try detecting the area, but my short jaunt with a cheapo detector just turned up tons of iron. The barn burnt down years ago so the area is littered with old nails and bits of iron equipment pulled out of the barn.

I know there's some neat stuff to be found, though, because I just chose a random spot to dig, and under two trowelfuls of dirt i came across an old musket ball.

Is there a certain detector that excels as seeing past iron debris? Or a specific type of setup that would help?

Iron is any machine worst nightmare. The Fisher F2 has a very fast recovery which really helps in iron. The Ace 250 is a bit slow. The F2 is a great entry level machine.

Holler if you have more questions or want a great deal on any of them. Love to help you! Thanks, Bart.
 
listen to bart he knows what he is talking about get the f2 and a small coil like the 5 inch one they sell
 
If you will have access to this site for a long period of time, I suggest all metal and dig everything. Sure, you will be digging mostly trash, and will be digging constantly, but the treasures you will find will make up for it.
 
Another thing to keep in mind is that most people trade up from detectors in your area price range where as people who already have more expensive machines get a compadre
Some down sides to the compadre are it comes with a small coil that is not easily interchangeable and it has no VDI
What it may lack in extra controls and screens is more then made up in performance.
With an extra coil I have close to 700 invested in my xterra 505 but when I go after rings the compadre always checks the site first.

Best advice so far is to dig everything you find and clean up the site. Who knows ypu mayfind something that pays for a top end machine
 
It might matter where you live. Some areas are heavily mineralized. The E-Trac would probably be best but it is $1,000+. The ACE 350 has a DD coil, but has an annoying sound from what others have said. The F2 has numeric, VDI. You can get the ATPro for 5ish. I agree on the small coil suggestion, even if you are digging the junk it will help you locate each target individually better.

It might scratch some items, but it would be interesting to dig or till up a garden sized plot of soil and drag or roll a very strong Harbor Freight rare earth magnet (20-100lb strength) through it. If you break the dirt up fine enough, the nails should come right out, making relics and coins easier to find with any detector.

mags.jpgroll.jpg
 
It might matter where you live. Some areas are heavily mineralized. The E-Trac would probably be best but it is $1,000+. The ACE 350 has a DD coil, but has an annoying sound from what others have said. The F2 has numeric, VDI. You can get the ATPro for 5ish. I agree on the small coil suggestion, even if you are digging the junk it will help you locate each target individually better.

It might scratch some items, but it would be interesting to dig or till up a garden sized plot of soil and drag or roll a very strong Harbor Freight rare earth magnet (20-100lb strength) through it. If you break the dirt up fine enough, the nails should come right out, making relics and coins easier to find with any detector.

View attachment 129901View attachment 129902

Great idea!
 
It might matter where you live. Some areas are heavily mineralized. The E-Trac would probably be best but it is $1,000+. The ACE 350 has a DD coil, but has an annoying sound from what others have said. The F2 has numeric, VDI. You can get the ATPro for 5ish. I agree on the small coil suggestion, even if you are digging the junk it will help you locate each target individually better.

It might scratch some items, but it would be interesting to dig or till up a garden sized plot of soil and drag or roll a very strong Harbor Freight rare earth magnet (20-100lb strength) through it. If you break the dirt up fine enough, the nails should come right out, making relics and coins easier to find with any detector.

View attachment 129901View attachment 129902

I use a RE N42 to knock out any iron right away in a hole.
 
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